80% of employees want to use AI more than their jobs allow

Four in five employees want to use artificial intelligence (AI) more than their current jobs permit, while up to 82% say their existing AI tools do not meet their needs, highlighting a gap between workforce readiness and workplace adoption, according to a new study by Cognizant.

The report, New Frontiers, New Frictions: Mapping the DNA of AI Adoption, identifies what the technology services company calls the “Activation Gap” — the divide between employees’ willingness to use AI and their ability to apply it effectively in their jobs.

The findings suggest that organisational barriers, unsuitable tools and gaps in training are preventing businesses from translating employee interest in AI into productivity gains.

Cognizant estimates that a uniform 5% increase in global labour productivity could add approximately US$6 trillion to global gross domestic product (GDP). The company said closing the Activation Gap could help businesses capture part of this potential economic value.

“Our research finds that people are ahead of their employers,” said Ravi Kumar S, chief executive officer of Cognizant.

“Willingness is the hardest part of any technology shift, and it's already in hand. What's ahead is the work of context: shaping tools to the rules, the workflows and the execution patterns of how a particular team gets things done,” he said, adding that context-specific tools can perform where generic ones fall short.

AI tools fail to meet employee needs

The study found that between 72% and 82% of employees across different AI adoption groups said their current tools did not meet their needs. 

Even Precisionists, a group of highly active AI users who reported the highest satisfaction levels, recorded just 28% satisfaction with their tools.

Among Accelerators, who are heavy AI users, and Architects, who adopt AI quickly, 33% identified a lack of context and customisation as the main factor limiting their use of the technology.

Cognizant President – Americas Surya Gummadi said dissatisfaction with workplace AI tools extended beyond employees who were new to the technology or reluctant to use it.

“It's a near-universal experience, cutting across employees who are highly engaged with AI and those who are not,” Gummadi said.

The findings indicate that expanding access to AI alone may not be sufficient. Employers may also need to adapt tools to specific job requirements, workflows and business processes to make the technology more useful in day-to-day work.

Employee attitudes influence AI adoption

The report also found that employees’ disposition towards technology, risk and work was roughly six times more predictive of AI behaviour than their position in the organisational hierarchy.

Cognizant identified two groups — Navigators and Stalwarts — as representing 72% of workers and a significant opportunity for employers seeking to increase AI adoption.

Navigators are willing to use AI but face organisational barriers, while Stalwarts need a clearer rationale and business case for adopting the technology.

The study suggests that employers may need differentiated approaches to encourage adoption, addressing workplace constraints for willing users while demonstrating the practical value of AI to those who remain hesitant.

AI training remains uneven

Training was another area of disparity. Among Architects, 81% rated their AI training as effective and 83% completed it. 

Among Holdouts, the group least inclined to use AI, only 56% considered their training effective and 53% completed it.

However, the study found that training alone did not resolve dissatisfaction with available tools. Even among Architects, 87% said they turned to unsanctioned tools when approved options fell short of their needs.

This points to two distinct challenges for employers: making AI training relevant and accessible to different employee groups, and ensuring approved tools can support the work employees need to perform.

Kumar said companies would need to address both areas to realise AI’s potential economic benefits. 

“For the technology to unlock the roughly $6 trillion in potential GDP growth that AI could provide, companies must simultaneously provide context-specific tools to a receptive employee base while also improving their training programs to customize them for different personas and increase their effectiveness at producing real results,” he said.